


say you love me

by queenvenus



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Romance, ladynoir is my lifeblood, my ML obsession is back and it's hitting me full force
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 10:59:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18248474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenvenus/pseuds/queenvenus
Summary: they've had this talk dozens of times, and tonight is no different. or maybe, it is.





	say you love me

Paris is singing.

 

Ladybug loves Paris at night. There was something about standing atop a building and looking down at the splendor of lights that makes her heart swell. At night, Paris seemed to glow with magic. The wind is blowing through her hair as Ladybug stands on a high building, smiling down at her beloved city. She could risk a lack of sleep for a view like this.

“Patrol is over, my lady.” Chat Noir’s smooth voice sounds as he goes landing beside her, straightening up. “You should go home and get your beauty sleep.” a smirk goes sliding across his face. “Not that you’d need it, anyway.”

Ladybug rolls her eyes. She had gotten long used to Chat Noir’s endless flirtations, and now it rolls off her like water rolling off a duck’s back. Sometimes she wondered if he gave himself a headache from trying so hard.

“Thanks,” she replied, eyes flickering to him before landing back on the streets of Paris. “It’s beautiful tonight, isn’t it?”

Chat Noir nods. “I guess that’s one of the perks of being a superhero, enjoying views like this.” there’s a look crossing his face, and he slides up beside her, slick as oil in a pan. “But the view beside me is much lovelier.”

_Oh boy,_  Ladybug thinks, and the smile that is plastered on her face falters just a tad. He never seemed to give up, that Chat Noir. Ladybug had set their boundaries plenty of times before, when his attempts to woo her crossed a certain line. Her heart belonged to someone else, they both knew that. But tonight, with the stars up above and the ones stuck to the ground, Ladybug finds herself…swayed.

At first, she vehemently denied these feelings with every fiber of her being. She was in love with Adrien Agreste, and nothing would ever change that. It had been that way for as long as Marinette could remember. He was a burn of the most beautiful kind, the sear he left on her heart would last forever, she as sure of it. So why is it, on nights like these, Ladybug would find herself lost in the strange green of Chat Noir’s eyes? Adrien was perfect, but he didn’t  _notice_  her, and he certainly didn’t sing her praises the way Chat Noir did…

Ladybug shakes her head sternly. No, that didn’t matter. She’d spill her love for Adrien soon, and Chat Noir’s poetic verses about her beauty wouldn’t matter anymore. But right now, that dangerous feeling is rocking inside of her, and she has to put a stop to it.

“You can’t do this, kitty.”

Chat Noir gives her a confused glance. “Do what?”

“Flirt with me the way you do.”

“My lady, I always flirt with you.”

“I know!” Ladybug gives a huff and tries to put some distance between them. Maybe if she gets far enough she’ll stop wanting to hear that smooth lull of his voice. “I told you before, I don’t…”

“You don’t love me,” he finishes for her, and Ladybug nods. “I know, Ladybug.”

“Then why–”

“How can I not?” Chat Noir is looking at her fully now, his back is ramrod straight. “How long have we been partners, my lady? How many times have I watched you trapeze through Paris like something from a dream? Your spirit, your bravery, your love for others…” he trails off, and his voice is soft. “How could I not fall in love with you?”

Ladybug gazes at him, the space between them physically is small, but she sees another that widens to a chasm. How long could they do this, this constant back and forth, before Chat Noir’s heart gave out? He bounced back from every rejection with ease, but how much could he take before the cracks began to show?

“You know it won’t work, Chat.” Ladybug says quietly. Her words are harsh no matter how hard she tries to soften them, but she has to drive her point home. “It’s too dangerous.”

At this, Chat Noir actually scoffs. “We’re superheroes, my lady. We get into danger every day.”

“That’s exactly why this shouldn’t happen! There’s too much risk, we’d just be fanning the flames.”

In a flash, Chat Noir is so close to her that Ladybug doesn’t have the time to react. His eyes are piercing, like twin emerald flames. The shade of his hair, the black of his suit, Chat Noir looks like a sweet, dark dream, pulling her into his orbit.

“Ladybug,” he breathes, and his voice is several octaves deeper than it should be, tender and husky. It sends shivers down her spine. “I don’t care about the risk, okay? I don’t care about the danger. I realized a long time ago that I’d lay down my life for you.”

Something akin to panic goes shooting through Ladybug, like the downward strokes of a butterfly’s wings. The thought of Chat Noir possibly dying was always apparent somewhere in the back of her mind, but she never paid much attention to it. It hurt too much to think about. But now that  _he’s_  the one who said it out loud, with such conviction at that, it brings up all sorts of horrible thoughts.

“I don’t want you to do that.” Ladybug whispers, and her voice is trembling.

“But I would, my lady.”

“Chat…”

Chat Noir takes one clawed hand and gently tilts her head up so that she has no choice but to look at him. All of Paris falls away, leaving nothing but the two of them trapped in endless space. “I love you, Ladybug. I can’t help it. Loving you is instinct, almost like breathing. I also know that another person has stolen your heart.” Ladybug can’t look away from him, and her heart is dancing wildly.

_Why?_ She thinks desperately.  _Why did it have to be this way?_  She wants to get upset, she wants to yell at him.

_Move on, already!_ Ladybug is dying to say the words aloud, but she doesn’t trust her voice, and her eyes are getting warm.  _Stop hurting yourself like this!_

Chat Noir has his hand around her waist, and he subconsciously pulls her closer until Ladybug is sure she can feel his heartbeat through the fabric of his suit. His next words are whispered in her ear, reverent and adoring.

“Whoever he is, my lady, I hope he deserves you.” He presses a kiss, feather light, to the side of her face, dangerously close to her mouth. He takes her hand and kisses her knuckles, a prince at the mercy of a radiant royal. He slides his arm from her waist, extends his baton and leaps off the building, a bird in flight. Ladybug watches as Chat Noir vaults over buildings and disappears from view.

Her heart goes skitting, and falls into the fire.

* * *

Marinette spends the next few days in a fog. She lays in bed after school, staring up at the ceiling. Tikki hovers over her, worried.

“Marinette.” Tikki says. “Are you okay?”

Marinette sighs. “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore, Tikki.” she grabs a pillow and clutches it to her chest. “I’m so confused.”

A moment’s silence falls between them. “Do you love Chat Noir, Marinette?” Tikki asks quietly, and something hot is blocking Marinette’s throat.

“I…” her voice is cracking, and Marinette quickly wipes at her eyes. “I do…” she sniffs. “Oh, Tikki, I feel like an idiot!”

“Why?”

“Because…because I keep on running away from things! I don’t want to do it anymore, but it’s just so hard.” Marinette rolls over, blue eyes shining. “What do I do, Tikki? How do I fix this?”

When she meets her Kwami’s gaze, Marinette is shocked by how intense her expression is.

“There’s only one thing I know, Marinette.” Tikki responds. “Ladybug never runs away.”

That’s all she needs to hear.

* * *

Night Patrol is almost over. The day had been relatively calm, for once, but the distance between her and Chat Noir leaves her cold. He’s still kind and respectful, Ladybug wouldn’t expect anything less. But still, it floors her. When they take a rest, with the hour drawing to a close, Marinette gathers all her courage.

“Kitty,” she turns to Chat Noir, who is looking down on the glittering lights.

“Yes, my lady?”

Ladybug saunters towards him, and looks him straight in the eye. To hell with the risks, she decides. Marinette wants everything that’s given to her, and this was one of them. It was time to stop running, and she’s going to stop now.

“I don’t care about the risk, either.”

Before she can lose her nerve, Ladybug reaches up on her toes and kisses him, full and true, on the mouth. She can feel Chat Noir stiffen, and immediately she thinks she’s gone too far. But he relaxes and embraces her like she’s the only thing left of this world. It’s like leaping through the air, kissing Chat Noir. The rush is indescribable, and Ladybug is sure nothing in the world can compare to this.

He pulls away briefly. “Claws in.”

Shock goes zip-lining through her, and when Ladybug pulls away, she’s staring into the face of Adrien Agreste, the last of his de-transformation fading away as his suit disappears. Before Ladybug can react, Adrien has caught her in his arms, and the world feels wonderfully tilted as he kisses her again. Marinette’s mind is blank, and through the haze of surprise, she finds delight blooming in her chest. She can feel herself de-transform as well, and then there’s  _nothing, nothing, nothing_. It’s just the two of them, passionately linked.

 

Down below, Paris is singing.

**Author's Note:**

> my first ML fic!! i hope you all enjoy it!


End file.
